Estimates for new reactor construction costs continue to sky-rocket. Conservative estimates range between $6 and $12 billion per reactor but Standard & Poor's predicts a continued rise. The nuclear power industry is lobbying for heavy federal subsidization including unlimited loan guarantees but the Congressional Budget Office predicts the risk of default will be well over 50 percent, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill. Beyond Nuclear opposes taxpayer and ratepayer subsidies for the nuclear energy industry.

Good news from Jessica Azulay, AGREE program director (Azulay won the inaugural Friedman award, named in honor of Beyond Nuclear founding board member Lou Friedman, and People's Action for Clean Energy leader Judi Friedman):

Rules that the lawsuit will be fully heard in court.

On January 23, the lawsuit challenging New York's ratepayer subsidies to four uneconomic, aging nuclear reactors owned by Exelon Corporation cleared a major hurdle when Judge Roger D. McDonough rejected motions to dismiss that were brought by the state of New York and several nuclear energy corporations.

Stay tuned for more ways to get involved as we build the momentum against nuclear bailouts in New York. And thank you for everything that you do to help our state transition to a renewable energy future!

Beyond Nuclear has been honored and privileged to take part, for many long months and even years, in the environmental coalition's legal challenge to the massive ratepayer-funded subsidies, shamelessly intended to bail out four dangerously old atomic reactors on the Lake Ontario shore in upstate NY (while using funds meant for "clean energy" to do so!). We hope the environmental coalition groups that have established legal standing in this court case will now prevail on the merits, for the sake of NY ratepayer pocketbooks, as well as the safety, security, health, and environment of New Yorkers, Ontarians, and beyond, over vast regions downwind and downstream.

Georgia Public Service Commissioners have recognized the outrageous expense and risk associated with completing the troubled Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at Vogtle 3 and 4. The Commission voted to limit Georgia ratepayer exposure to the project to 7.4 billion dollars, a number that Georgia Power has repeatedly stated is insufficient, and is attaching even that level of support to a hoped-for Act of Congress to pass a future tax credit extender that was excluded from the tax bill now awaiting the President’s signature.

Additionally, the Commission opted today not to vote on the controversial Revised Joint Owners Agreement between for-profit Georgia Power and the nonprofit co-owners of Vogtle, which has been testified to as potentially criminal under Federal Anti-Trust law. Therefore, Nuclear Watch South sees today's vote as progress towards a full and final cancellation.